Bettman gets an unwarranted bad rap from Canadians who misunderstand his position. The Board of Governors make decisions, he speaks for them.

I'd love to see another NHL team in the GTA but it seems unlikely in the next few years given the league's stance on expansion and relocation. Along with that, the Leafs regional control would have to be changed to allow for another team so nearby.

A new 20,000 seat arena for the GTA? If Graeme Roustan has his way, such a sparkling new building could be ready for business in Markham by 2014. Roustan, Chairman and CEO of GTA Sports and Entertainment, acknowledged on Tuesday that “we’re looking forward to bringing our official proposal to the town of Markham in the near future.” Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti reportedly was going to update Markham council during a private session of a meeting on Tuesday night. Town councillors are aware of the project but have been publicly muzzled after signing non-disclosure agreements.

The arena, which is estimated to cost $300 million, would be part of a massive project spearheaded by Roustan and Toronto-area land developer Rudy Bratty, who has an estimated net worth of $940 million. The proposed real estate venture calls for the construction of a huge entertainment and sports complex that would include the arena. The arena would be situated west of Kennedy Rd., north of Highway 407 and west of the Unionville GO Station on land owned by Bratty.

Roustan, who also is the chairman of the Bauer hockey equipment company, insisted that the proposed arena is not predicated on wooing a second National Hockey League team to the Golden Horseshoe, claiming the building’s purpose is to supply a venue for concerts and other entertainment shows. Whether the NHL one day decides to look at putting a second team in southern Ontario will have no bearing on whether the arena gets built, Roustan said.

“This market has clearly demostrated the need for a second world class (entertainment) facility,” Roustan told the Toronto Sun on Tuesday night. “This market certainly can support it.” In other words, the GTA Centre, the name of the proposed arena, would provide a viable option to concert goers to the Air Canada Centre. Indeed, it is believed that show promoter Live Event already has shown interest.

On the surface, the proposed construction of the 19,500-seat GTA Centre in Markham is not an attempt to land a second National Hockey League team to southern Ontario. Indeed, in an interview with Bauer chairman Graeme Roustan on Tuesday night, the man spearheading the project along with Toronto-area real estate mogul Rudy Bratty, he seemed very sincere when insisting this is to be an entertainment/concert venue, not a building designed to have an NHL team as its prime tenant.

Having said that, it's impossible not to connect the dots here. While it might not be the primary purpose for building such a venue, the existence of such a facility does give the NHL one important thing. An option.

__________________There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know. -Donald RumsfeldDidn't you notice on the plane when you started talking, eventually I started reading the vomit bag?

Won't happen anyways.
And I'm not so sure a team in Toronto (or Markham) is going to automatically be a success. Not saying Toronto couldn't theoretically support a 2nd NHL team, but I don't think it's as much of a slam dunk. The great thing about sports is that people have an emotional investment to their team. Hockey fans in Toronto already have their team and are unlikely to switch allegiances. IMO a second team in Toronto proper (or immediate suburbs) would become the LA Clippers of the NHL.

You obviously don't know much about hockey. The Marlies are an AHL team and few people if any actually care about the AHL.
By your logic Montreal is not a hockey market either. The Montreal QMJHL team has lower attandance then Mississauga and Oshawa.
Fact is that once a city has an NHL the minor league teams are forgotten.

Then why with places such as Ottawa,Vancouver etc support nhl and major jr?

^^AHL and Major Junior get lost in the shuffle in places like Toronto and Montreal and even Hamilton, since an evening in Toronto or Niagara is an easy option. There's just so much else to do that people come to expect the best. Stuff like the AHL just doesn't interest people in those places. In contrast, a place like Ottawa is boring and isolated which permits a following to develop around small time entertainment. Maybe Vancouver hasn't achieved that critical mass yet either.

No I think people just appreciate a decently priced hockey game out there, especially families who cant afford 4 Canucks tickets. I've never understood the lack of support for the Marlies here, $20ish for a hockey game should be an attractive option for a city in Canada, instead people just do nothing. It's a very strange scene.

Especially since the lineup the leafs throw out most nights is the just a handful of marlies with Lupul, Phaneuf and Kessel anyway. Might as well save yourself $200 and go to a marlies game.

No I think people just appreciate a decently priced hockey game out there, especially families who cant afford 4 Canucks tickets. I've never understood the lack of support for the Marlies here, $20ish for a hockey game should be an attractive option for a city in Canada, instead people just do nothing. It's a very strange scene.

Especially since the lineup the leafs throw out most nights is the just a handful of marlies with Lupul, Phaneuf and Kessel anyway. Might as well save yourself $200 and go to a marlies game.

How well are Marlie games advertised in media and radio? Is there family packages available? Lastly do the games get aired on "B" channel TV or just radio?

Vancouver or Montreal would have a harder time supporting a 2nd team - not because of population but because their teams have actually had success since HNIC went to colour. I think people overestimate the "die hard Leafs forever" fan contingent - give the GTA another NHL franchise, that actually wins, and I bet plenty of people would switch allegiance in a heartbeat.

To put it another way, the Torontonians I know aren't all guys in their 60s, reminiscing about the glory days and slavering drones that will only accept the ONE TRUE TEAM. I think they support the Leafs largely because it's the only option, not because Toronto is filled with millions of people whose memories go back 50 years.

Especially with the massive amount of new immigrants hitting the city every year, and the hockey audience growing into all sorts of new demographics. These people don't really give a shit about the Leafs, and like most people would prefer to support a team that wins - hell, just look at how Pittsburgh and Chicago are suddenly the "fan favourites" across the country, while they toiled in relative obscurity for over a decade.

How well are Marlie games advertised in media and radio? Is there family packages available? Lastly do the games get aired on "B" channel TV or just radio?

If it was just the marlies you could say maybe its atleast partly because of marketing but when you have ohl teams as well with attendance issues even last year the majors one of the best teams int he country were one of the worst supported.

^^AHL and Major Junior get lost in the shuffle in places like Toronto and Montreal and even Hamilton, since an evening in Toronto or Niagara is an easy option. There's just so much else to do that people come to expect the best. Stuff like the AHL just doesn't interest people in those places. In contrast, a place like Ottawa is boring and isolated which permits a following to develop around small time entertainment. Maybe Vancouver hasn't achieved that critical mass yet either.

Ottawa is not is boring at all i know some love saying it is but its not and no ottawa is not isolated ottawa to montreal is a easy option.

Vancouver or Montreal would have a harder time supporting a 2nd team - not because of population but because their teams have actually had success since HNIC went to colour. I think people overestimate the "die hard Leafs forever" fan contingent - give the GTA another NHL franchise, that actually wins, and I bet plenty of people would switch allegiance in a heartbeat.

You're talking about Toronto not having success but you use Vancouver as an example?

And you're wrong fyi.. It may be fairweather in Calgary or other Canadian cities over there, but over here in hockey land it's not just a team.. You're raised to be a Leaf fan from day 1, and Leafs fans are the most loyal in the NHL.

Toronto and Montreal are the same way in that respect, both teams have fanbases that are loyal and fans for life, raised from birth. The majority of Leafs fans would not switch, and the ones who would.. Well they're the fairweather fans who cheered for Montreal in 2010 so we don't want em anyway.

If it was just the marlies you could say maybe its atleast partly because of marketing but when you have ohl teams as well with attendance issues even last year the majors one of the best teams int he country were one of the worst supported.

They play in Mississauga. And you're completely incorrect, they had fine attendance last year.

Man, some people here just like to hate on Toronto and don't even make sure they have their facts straight..